Google is testing banner ads in search results, apparently reneging on a 2005 promise by Marissa Mayer to never run them. October 23, 2013 1:29 PM PDT New, large banner ads are being tested by Google in the US market, apparently breaking a 2005 promise by the company. (Credit: Synrgy) Nearly eight years ago, Google's then-vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer wrote a blog post saying that the company would never run banner ads in search results or on the Google home page. Related stories: Carriers, regulators tussle over next-gen broadband Nexus 5 preorder pops up on eBay Apple's newest biz strategy: Free, free, free Apple Contacts vulnerability fixed in OS X Mavericks Chrome's parental controls step closer to adulthood That promise appears to be in the process of being broken, as a screenshot by the Dallas-based Web marketing app maker Synrgy shows an experimental, enormous banner ad at the top of search results for "Southwest Airlines." "There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever," Mayer wrote, as part of a response to a search deal with AOL. A Google spokesperson described the experiment as "small" and running only in the U.S. market, reported SearchEngineLand. Google did not respond immediately to a request for comment. CNET will update the story when we hear from the company.
Google is testing banner ads in search results, apparently reneging on a 2005 promise by Marissa Mayer to never run them.
New, large banner ads are being tested by Google in the US market, apparently breaking a 2005 promise by the company.
(Credit: Synrgy)
Nearly eight years ago, Google's then-vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer wrote a blog post saying that the company would never run banner ads in search results or on the Google home page.
Related stories:
- Carriers, regulators tussle over next-gen broadband
- Nexus 5 preorder pops up on eBay
- Apple's newest biz strategy: Free, free, free
- Apple Contacts vulnerability fixed in OS X Mavericks
- Chrome's parental controls step closer to adulthood
That promise appears to be in the process of being broken, as a screenshot by the Dallas-based Web marketing app maker Synrgy shows an experimental, enormous banner ad at the top of search results for "Southwest Airlines."
"There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever," Mayer wrote, as part of a response to a search deal with AOL.
A Google spokesperson described the experiment as "small" and running only in the U.S. market, reported SearchEngineLand.
Google did not respond immediately to a request for comment. CNET will update the story when we hear from the company.
